go back

Darkfield Microscope Exam for Spirochetes

South Carolina rates for HCPCS 87166

Examination of fluid or scrapings under a microscope arranged so that light strikes the sample from the side, making extremely thin corkscrew-shaped bacteria stand out bright against a dark background. It is used mainly to look for the organism that causes syphilis in fluid taken from a sore, and it can give an answer straight away.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Darkfield Microscope Exam for Spirochetes cost?

$10.96

Typical negotiated rate. In South Carolina, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $10.96 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $10.96 from a physician practice, and about $16.98 from a hospital or other facility.

These are rates insurers have negotiated with providers, not the amount a patient is billed. What you owe depends on your plan's deductible and coinsurance. Based on rates published by 5 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

Prices by location type

Billed byTypicalRange
Physician practiceA doctor's office, clinic or independent provider$10.96$10.00 to $11.22
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$16.98$12.02 to $26.30

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $17 · 10th to 90th $9 to $34Professionalmedian $11 · 10th to 90th $7 to $12
$5$10$20$50facility $17professional $11

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$8.71
Median
$8.71
Typical High
$8.71
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$8.71
Median
$8.71
Typical High
$9.12
BCBS South Carolina
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$12.02
Median
$16.60
Typical High
$29.51
BCBS South Carolina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$10.00
Median
$10.96
Typical High
$11.22
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$21.38
Median
$28.84
Typical High
$69.18
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$5.75
Median
$7.41
Typical High
$14.45
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$5.89
Median
$9.77
Typical High
$15.14
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$7.94
Median
$13.49
Typical High
$14.79
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$10.23
Median
$10.23
Typical High
$13.49
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$3.02
Median
$5.62
Typical High
$13.49
2 more rates with less common billing modifiers

A modifier changes what was billed, for example a reduced or repeated service. Each of these modifiers carries under 10% of the published rates for this code. Modifier combinations, and modifiers with fewer than 30 rates for a carrier, are not listed.

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
52 · Reduced service
Typical Low
$4.37
Median
$4.37
Typical High
$4.47
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$1.78
Median
$1.78
Typical High
$1.82

Where South Carolina sits

The same service costs 3.5 times more in Alaska than in Kentucky. Every bar is a state, most expensive first. Touch or drag across it to read any state, then open that state for its carriers and full range.

South Carolina· 27th of 51

$10.96

AK $25.70KY $7.24

Median negotiated rate in each state, from every insurer that publishes one. States where no insurer publishes a rate for this service are not shown.